Thousands in Bangladesh protest Rumsfeld visit

DHAKA, Bangladesh – Thousands of anti-U.S. protesters marched through downtown Dhaka on Friday, denouncing the soon-to-arrive Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.

Rumsfeld was to fly from Singapore to Bangladesh today to discuss this South Asian country’s possible interest in peacekeeping in Iraq.

“Rumsfeld is a war criminal,” chanted the demonstrators during separate rallies sponsored by nearly two dozens of Islamic and leftist parties. More protests were planned for today.

Tension gripped the capital following the deaths of nine people after unidentified attackers set a packed double-deck bus on fire late Friday, police said. No one claimed responsibility for the bus attack, but police suspected it was deliberate.

Rumsfeld was scheduled to arrive in Dhaka this evening for meetings with Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and Foreign Minister M. Morshed Khan, the Bangladesh foreign ministry said.

The Muslim-majority country has insisted it will send peacekeeping troops to Iraq only under a U.N. mandate – not under the U.S.-led coalition forces. Bangladesh is one of the world’s largest providers of peacekeeping forces, with 7,000 soldiers deployed in 10 U.N. missions.